Staff appraisal guidance

Studies have shown that organisations that have effective appraisal processes in place perform better and have higher levels of staff motivation. Due for release during November, the HR Advisory’s new ‘Whole School Appraisal Guidance’ provides a framework that schools can use for conducting appraisals for both teaching and non-teaching staff.  Where schools choose to adopt the guidance, it is intended to sit alongside, not replace, the school’s existing appraisal policy for teaching staff which all schools have a statutory obligation to provide.

The guidance includes a standard performance appraisal process, template documents and core behavioural competencies which can be used as part of the objective setting process along with other external standards, such as the Teachers’ Standards. 

The guidance, which was developed in conjunction with headteachers and the trade unions, is available exclusively to our buy back customers and you should be receiving a copy of this shortly by email.  If you need any advice or support in using this document, please contact Carol McCrone, HR Consultant on 0115 87 63610, email carol.mccrone@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Calling all new heads and deputies… Finding time to understand your roles and responsibilities as a people manager can be challenging when starting a new role.  Did you know the HR Advisory service can help? Why not use some of your HR Advisory consultancy time to obtain some expert advice and guidance on your HR responsibilities through a one to one or group induction session with one of our HR consultants.  This service is also available to experienced heads who would like a refresher or a meeting to discuss future HR needs.   To discuss further, please contact Kirsty Spencer on 0115 87 65697 email kirsty.spencer@nottinghamcity.gov.uk .

Managing Teaching Assistants’ hours – updated guidance

Updated guidance on managing TAs’ working hours has been produced and will be circulated shortly to our buy back customers.  Included in this guide is information on accruing hours on residentials/schools trips, what to do if a TA changes contract as well as a table of equated weeks values for TA and support staff. We hope you’ll find this guide useful but if you have any queries on managing TAs hours, please contact the HR Advisory line on 0115 76 2000 for advice.

Free Learning and Development Session: Costs, budgets and financial decision making

Do you have to provide financial updates/options appraisals to your Headteacher/governing body?  Do you want to hone your skills in this area of work?  Then our “Costs, budgets and financial decision-making – an introduction” course is for you. 

This workshop aims to develop a clear understanding of basic financial considerations and constraints, and presents some basic financial tools to enable schools to work efficiently in a more challenging budgetary environment.  The emphasis is on understanding budgets in context, determining what causes costs, simple analysis of financial performance, mixing financial considerations and values and developing and testing options for changing a service. 

The session is based on a series of practical exercises and is suitable for those relatively new to collating and presenting information for financial decision-making. 

HR Advisory are offering our buy back customers an exclusive opportunity to attend one of the 4 hour learning and development sessions free of charge. 

The course is one of many in our suite of learning and development courses for schools staff, suitable for individuals, teams, leadership or clusters of schools which are available as one day courses, inset days or workshop sessions.  We can also work with you to provide bespoke training sessions depending on the needs of your school.

Sessions are taking place on:

16 January 2015, Loxley House 2.11:  13.00 – 17.00

Or

22 January 2015, Loxley House 2.11:   08.30 – 12.30

To book your place on the session, please contact the Development Team on 0115 8763823 or email learning.development@nottinghamcity.gov.uk. 

To discuss your school's specific training & development needs, please contact Kirsty Spencer on 0115 87 65697 email kirsty.spencer@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Spotlight on policy by Carol McCrone, HR Consultant (contact: 0115 87 63610, email carol.mccrone@nottinghamcity.gov.uk)

In this section we aim to keep you up to date with new and revised legislation, policies and procedures, that have an impact on people management in your schools.

Where model policies, procedures and guidance will be provided, these will have been discussed as appropriate with the schools’ trade union representatives. It will be for governing bodies to decide whether they wish to formally adopt these, for application in their schools.

Shared Parental Leave

The new Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 are due to come into force on 1 December 2014. Subject to parents meeting the eligibility criteria, the options to use the new shared parental leave will apply for babies due to be born on or after 5th April 2015, or for children who are placed for adoption on or after that date. Schools could start to receive notices of eligibility and the intention to take shared parental leave from employees from January 2015.

The Regulations are designed to give parents more flexibility in how to share the care of their child in the first year following birth or adoption. As long as both parties meet the qualifying requirements, they will be able to share a pot of leave, and can decide to be off work at the same time and/or take it in turns to have periods of leave to look after the child.

Key points

• Employed mothers will continue to be entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave and 39 weeks of statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance.
• If they choose to do so, an eligible mother can end her maternity leave early and, with her partner or the child's father, opt for shared parental leave instead of maternity leave, if they both meet the qualifying requirements. They will need to decide how they want to divide their shared parental leave and pay entitlement.
• Adopters will have the same rights as other parents to shared parental leave and pay.
• Shared parental leave may be taken at any time within the period from the date the child is born or the date of placement and the end of the 52nd week after this date. It must be taken in complete weeks, either as a continuous period (which the employer cannot refuse), or as a discontinuous period (which the employer can refuse).
• Paid paternity leave of one or two weeks will continue to be available to fathers and a mother's or adopter's partner, to be used in a single block of leave, taken within 56 days of the birth. However additional paternity leave will be removed from 5 April 2015, replaced by shared parental leave. (NB – additional paternity leave remains available for fathers/partner of babies due to be born up to and including 4 April 2015.)

Antenatal Appointments

In addition to the entitlement for all pregnant employees to take reasonable time off with pay to attend antenatal care, from 1 October 2014 an expectant father or the partner (including same sex) of a pregnant woman will be entitled to take unpaid time off work to accompany the woman to up to 2 of her ante-natal appointments. The maximum duration of each appointment is defined as up to 6 ½ hours, which includes travelling time.

Similar rights apply to adoptive parents. Where a couple (same definitions apply) are adopting jointly, one of them is entitled to take paid time off of up to 6 ½ hours on up to 5 occasions. The other can elect to take unpaid time off to attend up to 2 appointments of up to 6 ½ hours each.

 “Partner” has been defined as the spouse or civil partner of the pregnant woman and a person (of either sex) in a long term relationship with her. The right applies whether the child is conceived naturally or through donor insemination. It also extends to those who will become parents through a surrogacy arrangement if they expect to satisfy the conditions for and intend to apply for a Parental Order for the child born through that arrangement.

In the case of maternity appointments, an employer is not entitled to ask for any evidence of the antenatal appointments, such as an appointment card, as this is the property of the expectant mother attending the appointment. However, the employer is entitled to ask the employee for a declaration stating the date and time of the appointment, that the employee qualifies for the unpaid time off through his or her relationship with the mother or child, and that the time off is for the purpose of attending an antenatal appointment with the expectant mother that has been made on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, nurse or midwife.

For adoption appointments, these must have been made by or at the request of the adoption agency. The employer can ask the employee taking paid time off to provide a document showing that this is the case and giving details of the date and time of the appointment. For partners accompanying then and entitled to unpaid time off, the employer can ask the employee for a declaration that they have elected to take unpaid time off and evidence of the timing and arrangement of the appointment as with paid leave.

Myself and my colleague Niki Gibson are currently working on new policy and guidance which will be discussed with the trade unions and shared with you early in 2015. If you have any queries in meantime, please contact me (see above) or Niki on 0115 87 63618, email: nicola.gibson@nottinghamcity.gov.uk..

Right to Request Flexible Working Under provisions set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996 and extended by the Children and Families Act 2014, all employees, not only those with childcare responsibilities, now have the statutory right to request flexible working, providing they have worked for their employer for 26 weeks continuously at the date of the application. An employee can only make one statutory request in any 12 month period. Consultation with the trade unions on a revised policy for the People Management Handbook for Schools (PMH4S) has now been concluded and the final version will be sent out to our buy-back customers this month. If you have any queries in relation to right to request flexible working please contact me, or your named HR advisor, who will be pleased to help. Coming soon…..new Capability Policy for spring term

Confidential Reporting Code (Whistle Blowing Procedure)

The schools’ Whistle Blowing Procedure has had a minor update as a result of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. Reference to reporting in ‘good faith’ has been removed, consistent with requirements of the Act.

DBS Policy

Appendix 2 of the DBS Policy concerning the Rehabilitation of Offenders has been updated to reflect revised periods after which convictions are considered ‘spent’, as defined by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment Act.

We hope you’ve enjoyed edition 1 of HR Advisory news.  Don’t forget to let us know your feedback. Best wishes for the rest of the autumn term. NCC HR Advisory Team

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